Jubilee of Mercy in the Archdiocese of Toronto

​​​The Jubilee of Mercy was announced by Pope Francis as a year to be lived intensely in each local Church throughout the world, allowing every person to encounter the mercy of God. The most evident sign of this pastoral care is the chance to open a Door of Mercy in every diocese. These doors, analogous to the Holy Doors of the Papal Basilicas in Rome, will allow people who cannot travel to Rome to make a Jubilee pilgrimage.

After the solemn inauguration of the Holy Year – marked by the opening of the Holy Door of Saint Peter's Basilica on December 8, 2015 – all locally-designated Churches throughout the world will open their own Doors of Mercy in communion with the Church of Rome as part of the Eucharistic celebration of the Third Sunday of Advent or Gaudete Sunday.

The Holy Father has asked that special indulgences be available for the Faithful throughout the Year of Mercy (December 8, 2015 – November 20, 2016).

The Holy Doors of Mercy in the Archdiocese of Toronto open on Sunday, December 13, 2015.

How to obtain the Jubilee Indulgence:

For those able to make a pilgrimage to one of the Jubilee churches in Rome, that is certainly an option. Otherwise, Cardinal Collins has designated seven churches within the Archdiocese of Toronto as Jubilee Churches, each with a Holy Door of Mercy. Going through one of these Holy Doors is a spiritual journey that shows, as the Holy Father said, "the deep desire for true conversion."

In addition to passing through a Holy Door, each pilgrim is to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, receive the Holy Eucharist while reflecting on God's great gift of mercy, make a profession of faith (recite either the Apostles' or the Nicene Creed), and pray for the Holy Father and for his intentions (an Our Father and a Hail Mary are recommended).

For those who are elderly, confined and the ill, Pope Francis said that they may obtain the indulgence by "living with faith and joyful hope this moment of trial" and by receiving the Eucharist or by attending Mass and community prayer, "even through the various means of communication" (for instance, a Mass offered on television). For those in prison, they may obtain the indulgence in their prison chapels.

Indulgences may be obtained for the dead by the carrying out of these same acts by the Faithful with the intention of offering the indulgence for someone who is deceased.

And finally, for all Catholics, this jubilee indulgence may also be obtained when a member of the Faithful personally performs a spiritual or corporal work of mercy.

Designated churches for the Jubilee with a Holy Door of Mercy:

St. Paul's Basilica
83 Power Street, Toronto

St. Patrick's Parish
131 McCaul St., Toronto​

Merciful Redeemer Parish
2775 Erin Centre Blvd., Mississauga

St. Anthony of Padua Parish
940 North Park Dr., Bramalea

St. Patrick's Parish
11873 The Gore Rd., Brampton

St. Theresa's Parish
2559 Kingston Rd., Scarborough

The Martyrs' Shrine
16163 Highway 12 West, Midland​

Marylake Shrine
13760 Keele St., King City​

St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish (Chapel Doors)
4260 Cawthra Rd., Mississauga​